A system which an organization is controlled and operates. It also includes the mechanics by which people are held into account.
Laws, norms, power, and language all impact how the governance of is exerted over a group or community. This can come from a government, corporation or network.
Some forms of governance are strict and rigid while others can be less formal. Within cryptocurrency, the idea of coin voting and other mechanism of real time governance are being experimented with. A lot of this is tied to what is set out in the protocol on the blockchain.
With some networks, smart contracts are being used as the tool that determines the governance of a system.
Related: